Surprises
by purplerose97
Summary: A long time ago a brave worrier fought against the demons to bring peace to the land, now that same threat approaches his descendants and the people of his kingdom once more will his descendants and those that still live who fought beside him be able to stop it or will the kingdom he fought so hard to protect fall into darkness? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1 Prolague

**Surprises**

Ch. 1 Prolague

 _A tall silver haired male with golden eyes stood in a field where a battle had recently finished. The smell of blood was still thick in the air so much so it could even be smelt by the human male standing next to him. "It is done". "Hai", answered the other male. Although not as intimidating as the inu-yokai he stood beside, the human also radiated an air of regality. He had silver hair just like the yokai, but his was more of a silver-bronze than the pure moonlit silver of the yokai. "It will not hold forever, and he will return. You will not be there to stop him when that happens." "I know." the human male said with a sigh. "I assume you have a plan?" A question, not a statement, as the yokai made it sound, but no one except those closest to him could tell._

 _"_ _Indeed I have, but before I explain I would like to ask something of you Shiro my friend" "You have only but to ask my friend". "Watch over my family after I am gone, only let my successor know of your existence, and choose those that guard and interact with my family well" "of course Sougen" the youkai Lord said solemnly._

 _550 years have passed since then and Sougen's decentdents ruled over the country that he had struggled and suffered so hard to build with a strong yet gentle hand as Shiro and his family watched from afar. There were more hero's in that battle eight beings with supernatural powers that came to Sougen's aid, that came to be known as "the Eight Colored Enlightened Ones" they were called thus because each bore the name of a color, and they were Sougen's friends and trusted advisors. However after Sougen died they disappeared leaving no trace behind except the monument that Sougen had built for them the called "the Ministry of the Enlightened Ones Cave". Other important hero's to mention were leaders of the eight provinces of the lands who were ordered to change their names to match that of a color after the battle with the demons._

 _Legends about the youkai or demons as they were known to the humans as, and the eight colored enlightened ones still were prevalent even after 550 years, but to the humans that is all they were._

 _A little girl with golden hair sat in a garden with the book she had read the amazing tale of Sougen and the "Eight Colored Enlightened Ones" from closed in her lap looking at the sky in deep though . If she were paying attention the small little girl who looked about five years old would have thought the garden she was in was beautiful, but she was lost in thoughts swirling with memories from a long time ago. Despite her apparent youth the girl was actually very old about 570 years old in fact she was an inu-youkai and one of the eldest daughters of Sougen's good friend the inu-yokai Lord Shiro. After she had grown and matured Aria had chosen to watch over Sougen's family because during the time Sougen the first King of Sauinkoku had been alive she had grown to respect and admire him and decided to ask if she could fulfill the promise he had made to Sougen in his stead. When she was 180 years old and looked to be about 18 in human years her father deemed her fit enough to at least start looking over Sougen's family eventually she grew into her role well while still continuing her training with her father._

 _That is why she was masquerading as a little kid which was cumbersome for her because she was very limited in what she could do in the body of a child. At least one good thing came of her being here she had made a friend the second prince Seiren he was a quite intelligent child who had a lot of expectations on his shoulders much as she did. That's why they got along so well after all, she worried for her friend at times though when her would get this lost lonely look on his face. When that would happen she did everything in her power to make him smile and forget his troubles at least for a little while anyway, she liked it when he smiled he had a great smile even at such a young age. She knew when her friend grew up he was going to have many women chasing after him because he was sure to be a very handsome guy._

 _Eight years after she was supposedly born at the palace they welcomed the sixth prince a little boy named Ryuki both she had Seiren went to visit as soon as the healer cleared visitors and they instantly fell in love with the little boy. Shortly after Ryuki was born his mother came down with illness and could not properly take care of the young prince, so Aria took it upon herself to do so since the wet nurse they had found for him didn't know how to take care of a child. He was a very quiet child just like his elder brother and hardly cried or made a fuss at all except when he wanted fed or he needed a changing._

 _Over those eight years she and Seiren also became known as "the troublesome two" because they were together all the time even though it was only Aria pulling the pranks while Seiren either got dragged into them or was trying to get her out of whatever mess she had gotten herself into._

 _A shock came one year later shortly after prince Ryuki's first birthday when Aria's father announced they would be returning home. It was the only time she had ever seen Seiren cry and it would be the only time anyone would ever see him cry even Ryuki the only one of his brothers he truly cared about._

 **|Chapter End|**

Author's Notes: A tip for the readers if you have never watched the show or read the books/manga I suggest you watch/read it first because I will for the most part be fallowing the story line of both until after Shirei arrives in Kiyo for the new year's celebrations. Aria is an OC name I really like so please don't be offended if you see this name a lot in my fanfics. Also some of the youkai abilities, markings and other such things are barrowed off of Inuyasha those idea's that are in Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Just a repeat **THIS IS NOT AN INUYASHA FANFICTION**. All Saiunkoku stuff belongs to Sai Yukino and Madhouse studios.


	2. Chapter 2

**Surprises**

Ch.2 Rumors Reach the Ears of a Friend

Shirei looked back at the city that had been her home since she was a child as her carriage left the city she sat opposite from Eigetsu who sat beside Korin she was so nervous the job bestowed upon her and Eigetsu by his majesty was great. She knew that together she and Eigetsu would be able to pull it off though they had been through too much to back down now. She thought about the work they had ahead of them it would not be easy, because Sa province was in such bad shape after the death of Lord Enjun, but they would do their best because his majesty believed in them. It was funny how she went from being the first female official in all of Saiunkoku to being Co. Governor of Sa province along with the youngest person to ever become an official. At least they weren't alone they would have two guides who would help them with their duties officials from Sa province that the king had appointed to help them.

One of these officials was Ensei Ro on old friend of Seiran's they met in the imperial city and who Shirei saved from dying of heat exhaustion he also coincidently is the former governor of Sa province. The other official they would be apprenticing under was Yushun Tei who was actually originally from the imperial city, but was assigned to Sa province and acted as somewhat of a mentor to Ensei. Former governor Tei is the only one she hadn't met yet and she wondered what he was like she knew he couldn't be too bad a person if he was able teach Ensei, but other than that she was clueless. She also knew this place was dangerous because the Sa clan would stop at nothing to make sure the new governors did not take their office after all they had put a rather high price on Ensei's head.

Which was why Seiran was there to protect them and Ensei of course was there to escort them along with Korin who had lived in Sa province and knew the province better than they did, but she knew full well anything could happen. All she could do was hope that they could handle whatever was thrown at them by the Sa clan, and make it out alive because right now dying was a real possibility not just a fact.

Aria stood high on a mountain top looking down at the remains of a battlefield that not too long ago echoed with the cries of a battle and pain, and the clash of steel against steel. The past 13 years the seals on the evil youkais her father had fought when she was just a young pup had been deteriorating rapidly and some had already escaped their prisons. The clan took immediate action when they noticed it and called the other lords together and all agreed to stand together helping to hunt down the youkai while the precautions Sougen put into place before his death were set in motion. Aria knew Sougen's plans she had been there when they were made and entrusted to her father and now they were hers to carry out swiftly, as her father was now dead and buried in the dirt. She was glad for her twin sister Ai who was as much like their mother as she was like their father. Ai understood the importance of what Aria had to do and let her do it while she took care of the rest they were truly and amazing pair.

Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as the soldier she had sent to inform her of the King, Shirei, Seiran, and Shoka appeared in front of her. "Speak" she ordered after the soldier had caught his breath "Lady Aria, I have come with the information regarding certain individuals as you requested." She waited as the soldier gathered how he wanted to say what he had found. "Firstly you said the king was priority, so I gathered info on him first in seems as if he is doing well and has given two officials iris' as a sign of trust." "The names of these officials are Shuei Ran and Kuyo Ri, this Shuei person was obviously a good choice because the Ran Clan have always been loyal to the king, but this Kuyo person I was not so sure of upon finding out about him until I learned he was the adopted child of Reishin Hong the Hong Clan although not the as prestigious as the Ran are still very loyal to the king."

"Anyway next you asked me to find out about Shirei, Seiran, and Shoka from what I could tell Shoka the black wolf was doing fine, however the was a rumor going around when I was in the capitol that one of the new governors of Sa province is a young women by the name of Shirei Hong." "Upon further investigation I confirmed this as true and came back immediately to tell you of what I had learned, though I left in such a hurry that I did not get any information on Seiran unfortunately." "Please forgive me milady?" "It is all right Yo, you did well to bring me the information you have you may return to the barracks and rest now from your long journey." He bowed to her before taking himself off for his rest leaving his Lady with heavy thoughts weighing down upon her.

Aria sighed as she thought over what the head general of the western army she had sent to find out how certain people from her past were doing. She was surprised by some of it and by others not so much no matter how much time passed humans never ceased to amaze her. Shirei always was a strong willed and independent spirit so that she won the place as Sauinkoku's first female official was all that surprising to her. Shoka being content with his simple, quiet life after a life of killing others at the whim of the previous king also did not surprise her and she believed he deserved it.

She was extremely happy that Ryuki was getting along well as the new ruler and that he had two apparently very loyal and capable officials at his side to help him rule like a good king should.

Though she was sad that the general had not brought her any news of her old friend Seiran she knew that wherever Shirei was Seiran was not likely to be too far behind even if he wasn't appointed as Shirei's guard.

Slowly a decidedly predatory smirk spread across her beautiful face as she decided what she was going to do next, she would go find out how Seiran was doing herself by going to Sa province and finding him. She was also worried about him after all when she had seen him last in Shi province she had made him spill everything about where he had been and what he had been up to, so she naturally knew about the "murderous blades" and what Seiran went through at the hands of them. She was also one of the only people who knew Seiran was one of the ones responsible for the "murderous blades" downfall ten years ago. She hoped he would be okay being back in Sa province after Shoka took him in and got him away from Sa province.

 **|End Chapter|** the

Author's Notes: Alright so that's a rap on the second chapter of the story I'm hoping that I did a good job on it. This idea had been floating around in my head for a while I just never started to write it until now because I didn't know in what direction I wanted to take it until now. Hopefully I will get a chance to test out my skill in writing battle scenes in this one because I don't feel I have done a good job on battle scenes in other fanfictions any idea's readers have on battle scenes would be much appreciated and will be given due consideration when writing said battle scenes.

Thanks for all your support Purplerose97

All stuff show/manga stuff belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Sai Yukino, and madhouse studios


	3. Chapter 3 Confirmed

**Surprises**

Ch. 3 Confirmed

Shirei wandered the streets of the city she had been separated from the rest of her companions in deep thought she needed to reach Kinka as soon as possible and fallow the plan Ensei had discussed with her. He had been expecting they might be captured or separated at some point in time and had made the point that she was to reach Kinka at all costs very clear. So she went to the only place she could think of where she might be able to get safe passage to Kinka the merchant's guild.

Upon reaching the guild she was immediately taken to the guild's head when she showed them her pass she had gotten from Secretary Kijin before she left for Sa province. Her guide spoke quietly to the head before her rose and asked "you want passage to Kinka yes?" "Yes I do, and I would be willing to do anything you require of me to gain it." "There is no need it had already been taken care of" "but how?" "Tell me do you know what that pass in your hand means?" "I thought it was just a regular admittance pass" "no it is a pass we were told if we should see it we were to do whatever the bearer wanted without question." "Then the head of the merchants guild had the windows blinded and the paint on her pass began to give off a soft luminance in the seven colors of the rainbow. "The paint on that pass is called luminesce seven colored paint only made by the Hong Clan." She was thinking of her uncle Kuro whom she had met shortly before she had left for Sa province and she somehow knew this was his doing and cried a few tears softly for her thoughtful uncle.

The head of the guild told her that there was currently only one caravan going to Kinka and that she was welcome to join assuming someone in the caravan was willing to take her on.

She fallowed the guild's head out to the place where all the caravans set up before they went to wherever they were to deliver their cargo. After halting one of the young men darting about getting the caravan ready for departure a slightly tall young man with pinkish hair and rosy pink eyes came forward.

"So you're the one that wishes to go to Kinka, well I would be willing to take you on as my person maid" Shirei almost lost it with that request, but was somehow able to keep her cool and nod. "The caravan will be leaving tomorrow at dawn so I will take you to the inn I am staying at and get you a place to rest for the night." So Shirei fallowed him unaware of the deep blue eyes that watched her from the shadows.

When Aria arrived at the border of Sa province she cursed the border was crawling with guards who had been payed off by the Sa province, now she was really worried about Shirei who know if she even got passed the border station. She spent a few days thoroughly checking the boarder station and determined that Shirei had at least gotten passed the border safely and was in Sa province. She then hit a bump in the road when she learned that the two new governors had been captured by the Sa Clan and their guard had been thrown in to the border prison to keep them from freeing them. She checked the claims and found that indeed the new governors guard had been thrown in prison along with the former governor Ensei Ro. She left them alone though because she knew from reports that Ensei was no slouch so he would be fine, and the king would not send someone incompetent to guard them.

Swift and silent as a shadow she jumped of the towering wall of the place where the governors were supposedly being held and landed on the other side on silent feet. She lifted her nose to the air and began sifting through the different scents of the place but she could smell Shirei's scent anywhere, so either the Shirei Hong she knew wasn't the new governor or the Sa clan had caught an imposter. "Hum" she thought "very interesting", she slipped into the building maneuvering effortlessly around guards till she reached the room the governors were being held in. She entered the room silently and took in a deep breath and nearly chocked on the breath she had just taken in for in the room was a scent that she had missed upon initial inspection, but that was unmistakable. It was the scent of Haku the White immortal of the "eight colored enlightened ones" entangled with a boy who looked about 13 years old.

She knew Haku was aware of her presence as she felt his aura press against hers slightly before backing off after recognizing her aura, she would not press why Haku had bonded to the boy she respected his privacy. She scented the room again and found that the other occupant of the room a girl with dark purple hair about the same age as the boy bonded to Haku asleep and apparently sick from the scent. She could tell the illness wasn't serious though so she left it be and headed out content in the fact Shirei wasn't in the hands of the Sa. Yes she was sure that Shirei was in fact the new governor and not that girl because on both of the occupants of the room was the faint but there scent of Shirei.

Now she just had to catch up to her dear friend before the Sa figured out that the women they had captured was not Shirei, but an imposter for the girl's sake as well as Shirei's.

 **|End Chapter|**

Author's Notes: Can you guess who the mystery person is that was watching Shirei from the shadows in the first part of the chapter? Alright there will hopefully be a battle scene in the next chapter so I will be crossing my fingers and hoping for the best and maybe my readers will like it if not it will be back to the drawing board on battle scenes "sniffle" anyway don't mind me I'm just being my ordinary melodramatic self. All anime/manga stuff belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Sai Yukino, and Madhouse studios. Ja Ne!


	4. Chapter 4 Thunder

**Surprises**

Ch. 4 Thunder

Aria watched Shirei go with the second son of the Sa Clan knowing there was nothing she could do because Shirei had already agreed to be the bastard's personal maid. She really wanted to rip the guy apart in that moment, no she had been wanting to rip the guy apart since he had arranged for the murder off little Shunki's parents. She hoped for the guy's sake he did harm Shirei in any way because if he did he was going to wind up a pile of goo on the floor from Aria's poison claws. She really needed to get away from the two and blow off some steam maybe destroy a few harmless trees and lower level demons.

With that in mind she fled the scene she had just witnessed while tightly reigning in her killing aura.

Shirei could have sworn she felt someone watching her, but when she turned around there was no one there so she just shrugged it off and fallowed behind her prodigal young master Senya Rin. When they arrived at the inn where he was staying she gaped it was probably one of the best in town so he most of been pretty wealthy even as far as merchants go. As soon as they entered the inn he immediately started her on her maids duties by having her make him tea and play the Erhu. Then she was shown to the room where she would stay until they left for the merchants' capitol of Kinka.

Three days has passed since they she and her young master had come to the town just passed the border of Sa province and she was beginning to think she would never reach Kinka with how the young master was lazing about. He had also been nothing but insufferable she was supposed to be his personal maid not his doll that he plays dress up on. He kept setting out outrageously lavish attire for her to wear and actually expected her to wear them, she wasn't a princess and had never had lavish cloths even though she was from a high standing family.

She turned form looking out the window when she heard movement coming from the bed in which her young master slept intending to bid him good morning, but immediately turned away due to his state of dress. "Gah young master could you please put some cloths on?" He did, but he had merely draped a robe around himself and when she insisted he get on some proper cloths "he complained about it being to hot for such things." Then when she asked about them getting underway for Kinka he had replied vaguely "it should be any day now."

She sighed and said "you really have no drive do you, a merchant carries things out swiftly but not you" "honestly your line will end with you if you keep up that attitude!" "Then we will leave today" "Hu" "we will leave for Kinka today" "I should do things more swiftly didn't you say." She was happy now things could finally get underway "by the way could you do my hair up for me?" She quickly put his hair up for him so it was out of the way "you know I heard a rumor there was an escape from the border prison apparently a pair of extremely strong men." "Really is that so" "there all done" "by the way young master if it's not too much trouble could I go out and take care of some last minute business before we depart." "I don't see any reason why not as long as you are back before sunset that is when we depart.

She exited the room and headed for the nearest tea shop she could think of and purchased all the Ganlu tea they have in the shop and sends he bill to her young master Senya Rin.

After Aria calmed herself down she went back to the prison to see if Ensei had freed himself from the prison yet, only to chock as she saw Ensei and Seiran beating up the guards on their way out of the prison. So Seiran wasn't just fallowing Shirei as she had thought he was actually the special officer assigned to the governors by the king. Well that was a surprise she hadn't expected that to be the case something must have happened for him to join the military willingly anyway. The next time the saw eachother he had a lot of explaining to do though it was rather fun watching Seiran and Ensei beating up the stupid guards she could see now how these two had managed to destroy the murderous blades.

They made a superb pair and would be able to keep eachother safe for sure so she had nothing to worry about there. The other governor would arrive in Kinka for sure accompanied by the Sa clan so he would arrive safely, and Shirei would be safe at least until she reached Kinka so for now Aria would simply fallow after all she was still worried about her friends.

Before they journey got anymore underway she used her light orb to go and check on his majesty and found he was still safe as the barrier around Kiyo City was still holding strong. With the assurance that at least two of her charges were safe for the moment within Kiyo City she focused once more on her charges that were out of the barriers' protection. Setting a median pace she sped along beside the carriage Shirei was traveling in keeping to the shadows so as not to be detected.

Earlier he could have sworn he had seen someone watching their escape from the prison atop one of the buildings, but they were too far away to be sure if they were male or female and any features that would be useful in identifying who they were. When they set up camp for the night he discussed it with Ensei who had seen the person as well both would be on high alert form now on because they were unsure if this person whoever they were was friend or foe.

After all their first priority was protecting the governors and this person might have to be dealt with in order to accomplish that goal.

 **|End Chapter|**

Author's Notes: How is the story so far good, bad, needs work but pretty good review and let me know what you think of this story!

Ja Ne!

Purplerose97


	5. Chapter 5 Fight!

**Surprises**

Ch. 5 Fight

The journey to Kinka for all her charges had gone smoothly and without incident for which she was happy she had to hold back her laughter at how smart her charges were Ensei and Seiran were taking out members of the murderous blades and using the bounty for travel. Then there was Shirei who was leaving an easy trail for Ensei and Seiran to fallow by buying all the Ganlu tea in every tea shop she and her young master she thought with disgust passed on their travels.

The other governor and the imposter Korin were doing well too and Eigetsu the other governor of Sa province was teaching Kokujun Sa the youngest son of the Sa family on their way to Kinka. Kokujun was so much like Enjun Sa she just knew when this whole affair with the Sa family was over he would be the new clan leader with Eiki and Shunki there to help him. She of course knew where and who Shunki was if fact there was pretty much nothing in the country she didn't know including the fact that a certain young king was abandoning his duties in the capitol and coming to Sa Province to see a certain Hong princess.

Honesty she couldn't blame him though Shurei was very hard person not to love and he had fallen for her hard and she looked forward to the battle that was ahead for the young king in getting what he wanted. Shirei did after all take after her mother in the fact that she was stubborn when it came to love she remembered the fight her father Shoka had put up to get her mother Shokun it was certainly interesting to watch that was for sure.

Oh well she would think on that later especially now that they were approaching Kinka she wondered how Shurei would handle the city being controlled by the revived murderous blades or for that matter how Seiran would handle it. If things got out of hand she would step in and lend a hand, but for now she would just watch and see how they all handled it.

Seiran and Ensei were on edge the same presence they had felt back at the border prison seemed to be fallowing them and would pop up every so often, but when they went to investigate the presence would disappear. So they were always on guard even more so with the murderous blades attacking them constantly on their travels. It really pissed him off that the murderous blades survived all because he let that rat Meisho escape the slaughter 13 years ago when he and Ensei destroyed the murderous blades.

At least her both her ladyship, Eigetsu, and Korin were all safe for the moment.

Shurei was nervous she had a bad feeling going through her as she entered Kinka it was like the calm before the storm. She shook that thought off though and focused on what she could do here and now to make a difference and she would start by gaining the support of the merchant's guild.

When the carriage stopped she thanked the young master and promised to meet him at the chrysanthemum residence. When she reached the guildhall though it was empty and she wondered why that was the merchant's guild should always be buzzing with life something was wrong here. She turned around to start gathering information and unexpectedly ran into something or someone else and nearly fell on her rump.

When she looked up she saw a man wearing strange items that an ordinary person would have trouble getting and instantly knew that he was a merchant and probably a member of the merchant's guild at that. She decided to ask what had happened here but before she could he spoke up. "Pardon me miss, but are you a traveler?" "Is this your first time to Kinka?"

"Yes and I was hoping to gain assistance from the merchant's guild"

"I'm afraid you're not in luck you see this guildhall has been a den of thieves for some time now."

"What but that can't be I want to see the Kinka special district leader of the merchant's guild right away can you take me to him." He just nodded and led the way.

Shurei stood in front of the special district leader of Kinka gathering her thoughts well aware that this would be her one and only chance to win support from the Kinka branch of the merchant's guild. It was her first task as governor and she would not fail with that she dove right in.

"I request aid from soldiers affiliated with the merchant's guild"

"The soldiers are to protect the citizens and ensure the safety of all officials that will be attending the coronation ceremony of the new governors."

"And what about the charm and the governor's seal I know for a fact that you do not have them with you at this very moment because the murderous blades who took over the city are still looking for it."

"The charm and the governor's seal should arrive in Kinka at about the same time as you even without anymore information you should recognize them instantly I have left them in a place where it impossible for them to be lost or stolen." "That is what this majesty the king said to me, I think we can trust his majesty's words on this one."

"The other governor Eigetsu To should be arriving in Kinka shortly along with the special officer assigned to the governor's Seiran Si, and Ensei Ro the lutenant governor.

"That's all well and good, but is that all the cards you hold in your hand currently?"

"No that is not if it comes down to it I am prepared to offer my own life as a bargaining chip."

"The Sa clan cannot risk the backlash from anything bad happening to me if it should the Hong clan would surely retaliate and they would suffer."

"Those are some very good cards however your last card is invalid we cannot predict how the Hong clan would react to such a gamble, though we will consider the rest of what you have said in the hopes of making it work."

"Oh thank you"

"no thank you governor Hong we have high dreams for the future and seeing you now gives us hope that our dreams will become a reality."

"By the way do you have accommodations for the night if not we can set something up for you?

"Oh no that won't be necessary I already have lodging for the night I will be staying with the son of the Rin family. "At that they got worried looks on their faces and she asked "What is the matter? " "A few days ago the entire Rin family was slaughtered by the murderous blades as far as we can tell there were no survivors." she thanked them and as she bowed and made her way into the city to find the badge and the governors seal she wondered just who the man she had been traveling with was.

Aria was rolling on the floor laughing her ass off she just couldn't help it of all of Ran the blue enlightened one's incarnations she had met this one had to be the funniest and the closest to how he himself actually was that there had been in a while. She could have killed him though when his incarnation started playing that flute and she knew Ran had sensed her presence much as Haku had so he could have stopped the twice damned guy from killing her sensitive canine ears. She got the feeling that for some reason Ran found her pain amusing judging by the aura of mirth he radiated anyway his hoste also noticed her presence though she could sense his confusion.

He was probably wondering who and what had the enlightened one's attention if there was one thing Ran and his incarnations had in common it was curiosity which was probably why Ran was the one she was able to get along with best out of the enlightened one's. After all curiosity was a trait all inu-youkai shared though to differing degrees she was lucky enough to have a relatively low level of curiosity. She knew some inu-youkai that had almost been killed by being too curious.

Anyway this would definitely be interesting especially with Ran's presence here she was well aware of the fact that Ran and Shurei had met she just wasn't sure if Ran had, had any hand in his hoste and Shurei meeting after all Shurei did house half of the red immortal's soul so she was a concern to the other seven enlightened one's.

They were on the trail of Eigetsu and when they appeared they were shocked to see the eldest son of the Sa Clan dead surrounded by the bodies of slain murderous blades members, and Korin and Eigetsu tied up. They looked at Meisho with shock "Meisho who are you really working for?" Ensei said in disgust "he just laughed and said "Chu Sho could never compare to the man I serve he has never wanted power until now so people underestimated him, but now there is something he wants so he ordered me to kill his older brother.

By that time the members of the murderous blades who had not been killed by Sajun had surrounded them and started attacking them and they were about to defend when Meisho ordered them to drop their weapons or he would kill Korin and Eigetsu. Meisho got a shock when his men got close enough all of them were slugged out by Ensei "Oh didn't you know his specialty is unarmed combat, telling an opponent like that to drop their weapon was suicide on your part right Meisho?" All this was said as they watched Meisho's men being tossed around like rag dolls so Meisho grabbed Eigetsu by the hair and said "If you want the boy to live I suggest you let them hit you." They were about to give in to his demands when he was hit from behind by a flute?

When they saw who had caught Eigetsu they were a little shocked general Ran's younger brother was the last person they had expected to see. And then Eigetsu was up and kicking ass so they knew Ryuren had probably given him some wine well the more help the better they supposed. What got his blood boiling though was when Ryuren informed them that his lady was heading into danger at the chrysanthemum residence. The had about finished off all of the remaining murderous blades member's and all that stood in his way of going to his ladyship now was Meisho. He and Meisho squared off "you know you will never beat me I was second in command after all and you were just a lonely subordinate" with that he sprinted towards Seiran.

And Seiran in one fluid move broke his sword into pieces and nocked Meisho out. Then out of the shadows came the youngest son of the Sa clan Kokujun Sa and he instantly pointed his sword at him until Ensei placed a hand on his sword and shook his head. "I'll guide you to the chrysanthemum residence"

"Don't worry about us I think we can handle things here" Ryuren said and they nodded before fallowing Kokujun.

Aria wanted to laugh at the shocked look on Meisho's face when Ensei started tossing his men around like the weighed nothing he certainly deserved it for the way he had treated Seiran all those years ago. Honestly she wanted to kill him herself the only thing keeping her from doing so was the fact that Shurei was in danger according to the blue enlightened ones incarnation and Shurei was more important than revenge. And then there was the white enlightened ones incarnation apparently he only came out when his incarnation ingests wine judging by the smell of the stuff the blue enlightened ones incarnation poured down his throat.

She felt bad for the boy though because after he had drank the wine and his consciousness faded some of his life force also faded so the boy should have died a long time ago and the only thing that was keeping him alive was the white enlightened ones soul.

Haku must have either been fascinated with the boy or pitied him and so gave him some more time in this world to fulfill his dreams. She knew he was close to dying even though he shouldn't be he should have lived at least until his mid-twenties. The only explanation she could come up with is someone else had the time that the boy should have. Weather it was by Haku's choosing (which she doubted) or his hoste begging him to save someone else (the more likely option she didn't know.

As they neared the chrysanthemum residence she nearly chocked it smelled of so much death and blood it was hard for her to breath at all. _Gods she thought what had Sakujun done to his uncles residence he has even scratched out the chrysanthemum crest and carved the Sa clan emblem on top._ This filled her with rage the elder Sa should never have his residence and the crest the king himself bestowed on him disrespected this thought brought he level of hate for the middle son of the Sa clan to an almost unbearable level.

One thing was for sure she hoped the bastard got what was coming to him the end because he most definitely deserved it.

They reached the residence and Seiran's fury burned higher as he came in to his lady pinned to the bed by Sakujun he threw a dagger that Sakujun easily deflected with his lady's hairpin. "My, my little whirlwind you certainly have a temper"

"To use the bud of a flower" he said "his majesty is certainly clever"

"Oh and before I forget the one who found half dead and buried in the snow 13 years ago was me." Seiran's reaction was to throw another dagger just then they heard the voices of soldiers coming up the stairs.

"And that is my que to leave, I shall see you in Koren my princess" with that he jumped out the window and was gone before they could even speak. Soldiers along with an elderly man rushed into the room "Sai my old friend you're alright" Ensei exclaimed "so the merchant's guild acted on our behalf."

"Yeah" Meanwhile Seiran was just helping Shurei get up after the ordeal she had been through at Sakujun's hands. "Shurei… Seiran this is Shin Sai the mayor of Kinka."

"Lord Shin Sai we need to immediately get things under control here in Kinka and I would be honored if you would give us some guid…ance." With that Shurei collapsed in Seiran's arms to the worried voices of Ensei and the Mayor.

Aria who had watched the whole thing go down was barely holding up the illusion around herself that kept others form seeing what she truly was the illusion was wavering dangerously. She could smell her blood on the air from digging her claws into her palm and her fangs into her lip to keep from interfering. Her eyes were tinted red signaling her blood beast was very close to the surface and they were for once in perfect agreement Sakujun was going to die whether it be at their hands or Seiran's it didn't matter.

As soon as she was sure Shurei was going to be okay she fled the city to blow off some steam in her true form this time though a smaller version of her true form but still functional for what she wanted to do she needed a good hunt.

 **|End Chapter|**

Author's Notes: Sorry it's been so long since my last update I hadn't intended to take so long updating, but I got writers block for this story for a little while there, but now I'm back in full swing though it still might be a while between updates.

Anyway next chapter Shurei and Eigetsu take their first steps as governors while Aria watches from afar and King Ryuki makes his way to Kinka.

As always all character names and stuff accept my OC's belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Sai Yukino.

Ja Ne!

Purplerose97


	6. Chapter 6 Solemn Watch

Surprises

Ch. 6 Solemn Watch

Aria watched as everyone worried over Shurei after she passed out because of Sakujun however she promised herself that she would only watch she would not interfere unless there was no other way. She knew Shurei had a strong will and would survive whatever else happened to her for her to become governor of Sa province and that she would be stronger for it. She dearly hoped though that the things she would have to do and endure as governor would not scar her in a non-physical way she had endured enough with losing her mother at a young age an knowing deep down that it was her fault her mother died.

Seiran she knew would do his best to make Sakujun pay for what he had done to Shurei, however Seiran was no match for Sakujun Shurei on the other hand was and she might be the only one even unknowingly that could kill him. Of course she could kill him too she was a demon after all and a very powerful one at that, but again she had promised not to interfere.

It was funny now that Shurei was safe again that she noticed the presence of her old teacher and friend for centuries the purple enlightened one or as most knew him advisor Sho he must have death wish if he came here. Eiki was sure to kill him or at least slap him since she figured he meant to visit her at some point while he was in Sa province carrying out his friend and another one of her teacher's final wishes. Honestly, she hated how things had turned out though she knew it was necessary, but she was a dog demon and hated seeing anyone she cared about die even though she hadn't been there to see her old teacher advisor Sa die it still hurt.

Back to Shurei she estimated it would be a day at least before she awoke but she knew that as soon as she was back in good health she would go into governor mode and start getting Kinka back in order. Shurei had been incredibly lucky in her life and had grown so much it was almost hard to believe that the little girl she had known even before they had officially met was now a grown women and the first female official in the kingdom.

She had true friends who cared about her and would do just about anything for her, She had a loving father who would do the same, and she had her mother watching over her from the shadows, not to mention a handsome and just king to love her all the days of her life if only she would allow it.

She sighed and extended her senses outward out of habit as she lay back in the tree that resided not too far from the Kinka Castle she had chosen to perch herself in to watch her charges. After making sure there were no threats around she settled in to meditate since she didn't need sleep as much as humans did besides any danger that entered within her sensing rang would immediately break her out of her sleep anyway that was just the way she was trained so there was no point in sleeping anyway.

The next day late in the afternoon as predicted Shurei awakened after the shock and stress of yesterday she got sort of yelled at by Korin and had Eigetsu fussing over her it was kinda funny to watch. She could tell that Eigetsu and Korin were attracted to each other but were both too embarrassed to admit it too each other she wondered what Haku thought of that one. Then shook that thought off as soon as it crossed her mind the last time she had tried to have a conversation with the white immortal she nearly got her head bitten off verbally it was bad enough he knew that she was fallowing his host even if inadvertently.

Besides she would likely have to put up with questions from the blue immortal's host soon anyway she would rather talk to someone that would actually listen to her than someone who would bite her head off with insults and condensation. God what a happy thing to think about she needed to stop thinking such dreary thoughts though she supposed with the war fast approaching it made sense her thoughts were a little dark.

She snapped back into focus on what was happening with Shurei and noticed she was talking with the youngest son of the Sa clan Kokujun it appeared he wanted to bury his elder brother by himself. Definitely like his great uncle she thought with a fond twist of the lips that twist became a full blown smile when Shurei learned that the young man she had met earlier at the Kinka merchants guild building was the special district leader of the merchants' guild. She could practically hear Shurei's thoughts but he's so young and then they talked about getting more help form the merchants' guild to get Kinka back on its feet.

It was funny but the special district leader of Kinka and his twin deserved every bit of the power they had in Sa province because they had worked hard to get where they were and had dreams that would take them very far in the future if her predictions were correct.

She knew that Shurei would head for Koren as soon as she had gotten Kinka at least mostly stabilized and that the troubles for her and Eigetsu were not over yet, but they had good start on being governors for Sa province. Aria wondered after having seen Shurei's reaction to who the actual special district leader of Kinka was what her reaction would be to who lutenant governor Tei is would be. Ensei had brought him in to help them in Kinka and he would be handling things there after Shurei and the other left for Koren at least until he decided to make the trip to Kinka.

"Hmm" she hummed thoughtfully with a predatory smirk things were getting interesting she just wondered how much more interesting things would get for his dear friends before things in Sa province settled down. She would be fine with whatever happened so long as he friends stayed safe Sakujun Sa was already a dead man walking after what he did to Shurei anymore crap from that bastard and his death would be neither swift nor painless she was after all a very vindictive and vengeful creature when it came to people she cared about.

 **[End Chapter]**

Author's Notes: Sorry it's been awhile since my last update for this story it is probably one of the lamest chapters I have ever written for a fanfiction and I'm sorry about that I may come back and revise it later but for now this is all you are going to get.

As always only my OC's belong to me anything else is the property of the people who made Sauinkoku.

Purplerose97


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